CHARLOTTE, N.C. --- Craig Simpkins (Boiling
Springs, S.C.) posted a lifetime-best time of 25:49.1 to finish
31st overall and lead the Lees-McRae College men's cross country
team to an 11th place finish at the University of North
Carolina-Charlotte Invitational on Friday.

The Lees-McRae men's team posted a solid showing, finishing 11th
in the overall team standings and edging out several NCAA Division
I programs, including Wofford College, Charleston Southern
University, and Presbyterian College. Lees-McRae also posted the
top point total of the four Conference Carolinas schools competing
in the event.

Simpkins finished 31st overall to pace the Bobcats with a
personal-best time of 25:49.1, which is the second-best 8k time in
program history. Sondre Thorbegsen (Tranoy, Norway) placed 68th
with a time of 26:43.3, while Austin High (Chesnee, S.C.) finished
90th with a time of 27:14.6. Jared Lupton (Nampa, Idaho) finished
95th with a time of 27:15.7 to round out the Bobcats who placed
among the top 100 runners, as over 200 student-athletes competed in
the event.

Hannah Henderson (Canvas, W. Va.) posted a season-best time of
19:57.5 in the Women's 5k to lead the Lees-McRae women's team to a
top 25 finish. Henderson finished 110th out of nearly 250 runners,
while Kira Shoemaker (Aiken, S.C.) placed 141st with a season-best
time of 20:40.6.

Crystal Fischer (Greer, S.C.) finished 198th with a time of
22:08.7 to round out the Lady Bobcats who placed among the top 200
runners. Lees-McRae finished 22nd in the team standings, posting
the fourth-best point total of the five Conference Carolinas
schools at the event.

Lees-McRae returns to the course on Friday, October 15 at the
Appalachian State Blue Ridge Open, being held in Boone, N.C.